French Open projected women’s seeds: Sabalenka No 1, Gauff leads seven Americans, Raducanu, Eala miss cut

Shahida Jacobs 17 May 2026 1:45 PM

Pictured: Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff

WTA stars: Aryna Sabalenka, Elena Rybakina, Coco Gauff

Aryna Sabalenka will be the top seed for a sixth consecutive Grand Slam as she will be the first name on the draw sheet at the 2026 French Open while Elena Rybakina will headline the bottom half.

Having been top of the WTA Rankings since October 2024, Sabalenka was the No 1 seed at all four majors last year as well as this year’s Australian Open.

The 2026 French Open seedings are based on WTA Rankings of 18 May and, although the Roland Garros organisers will only confirm the official list in a few days’ time, it is all but sealed with the Italian Open done and dusted and only one match remaining at the WTA 125K Paris event.

With reigning Australian Open champion Rybakina in the other half of the draw, the top two will only be able to meet in the final should the seedings hold while Iga Swiatek and Coco Gauff are projected to be semi-final opponents.

Swiatek and Gauff were in a battle to be the No 3 seed – not that it matters too much, as third and fourth were always going to go in separate halves of the draw – during the Italian Open, but the Pole’s run to the semi-final was enough for her to keep third spot in the rankings.

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Defending French Open champion Gauff – who beat Sabalenka in the 2025 final – leads a trio of Americans as she is followed by Jessic Pegula and Amanda Anisimova while newly-crowned Italian Open champion Elina Svitolina has jumped from 10th to seventh.

Teenagers Mirra Andreeva and Victoria Mboko, and Karolina Muchova complete the top 10.

Svitolina’s fellow Ukrainian and Madrid Open champion Marta Kostyuk is set for her highest seeding at a major as she currently sits at a career high No 15 after her title run in Spain.

Besides Gauff, Pegula and Anisimova, the American list includes Iva Jovic (No 17), Madison Keys (No 19), Hailey Baptiste (No 26) and Ann Li (No 30).

Baptiste and Li will be seeded at a Grand Slam for the first time.

World No 32 Wang Xinyu is the last player to make the cut with Jaqueline Cristian and Sara Bejlek the first two to miss out.

As things stand, no one in the top 32 has withdrawn from the entry list for the French Open, but things could still change ahead of the main draw on Thursday.

Besides Cristian and Bejlek, Emma Raducanu (No 37) and Alex Eala (No 38) are among those in line to move into the top 32 should a host of players pull out before the draw.

Current Top 32 Based on Live Rankings (17 May)

1. Aryna Sabalenka
2. Elena Rybakina
3. Iga Swiatek
4. Coco Gauff
5. Jessica Pegula
6. Amanda Anisimova
7. Elina Svitolina
8. Mirra Andreeva
9. Victoria Mboko
10. Karolina Muchova
11. Belinda Bencic
12. Linda Noskova
13. Jasmine Paolini
14. Ekaterina Alexandrova
15. Marta Kostyuk
16. Naomi Osaka
17. Iva Jovic
18. Liudmila Samsonova
19. Madison Keys
20. Clara Tauson
21. Sorana Cirstea
22. Anna Kalinskaya
23. Elise Mertens
24. Leylah Fernandez
25. Diana Shnaider
26. Hailey Baptiste
27. Marie Bouzkova
28. Anastasia Potapova
29. Jeļena Ostapenko
30. Ann Li
31. Cristina Bucsa
32. Wang Xinyu